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5 months with the boat? You spent that much time posting about the re-build. I second the bring-your-daughter's-friends deal. Most times I've gone on the boat, it has been spur of the moment when my kids had friends over and they said can we go the boat? Of course!

I sold the plane and bought a boat so that I could spend more time with my kids, who are now 16 and 18. OK -- so it was expensive, but so is a (properly maintained) boat. Since I turned 18, I spent about 200 hours at "home." In too few years your kid could live in Seattle or something -- make the most of this family crap while you can. A boat is the ideal way.

I also second the dink idea. My tricab is a little bigger, so I can sport a 15 hp RIB, which is practically a portable amusement ride. See what your options are for your boat. Being able to anchor out and have a bonfire ashore is a wonderful experience. I can show you some places that are an easy ride from your place.

It is almost my bedtime. Perhaps I'm already asleep and this post is just a bad dream. I'll wake up in the morning and check.

We just went trough a two year period with our now 16 year old daughter. Boys, school, growing pains, our life style, our likes and dislikes, vs a maturing child, just don't fit. In the end they all grow out of it! Keep the boat, do day visits you've earned it. In a couple of years the universe will change, life will go on and you will have a boat well worth being proud of, with memories of you and your fathers accomplishments, family time together. And a future you will look forward to!

Have patience with me folks, I sure don't want to upset anyone, but I was thinking about what Todd has said and...

..... the other side of this coin is that sometimes when we accomplish our goals, we have a slight let down. Smelling the roses is a little tougher when we're the one who had to plant the seeds and grow the entire garden.... especially if we don't really like the way roses smell. Not everyone is a boater either, some people are builders and Todd is certainly all of that. Everyone's different. Boats and Fun can be a complicated mix.

I've actually got to the point now where if we have our grandchildren along, we'll make a number of plans within a plan when we go out. We ride out to our favourite bay for three hours and then pull up anchor and cruise to Portland for dinner at the Shipwreck Restaurant. Then we walk over to the general store to buy fresh supplies for breakfast the next morning. Finally, we cruise back out and drop anchor just before nightfall.

There are times when Heather and I just go out and drop anchor and do absolutely nothing for two days. Then sometimes we plan a trip that takes us three full days to get back. Nothing spoils a boat outing for me more than indecision about routes and/or activities. I think that our boats need to be seen as a vehicles for our enjoyment, not something we constantly admire, polish or work on when we're out there, it needs to be the verb and not the noun imo.
To be a boater over the long haul, I believe a person's love of his boat has to become secondary to his love of boating.

I live and boat on a beautiful, inland, historical fresh water lake system. We can swim anywhere, there are no big storms nor tides. Nobody gets sea sick. Its easy to be a boater here. I always feel quite differently though when boating in the ocean with my friends in Florida because it's not my comfort zone.

Todd alway reminded me of the classic entrepreneur in the way he went about the business of restoring his Trojan. He reminds me of me. I have been in business my entire life. I wish I could be as organized and as focussed as he was restoring his boat. He would be able to tackle most any project, he would simply break it down into doable pieces and eventually accomplish the whole affair.

These boats cost us all a lot of money (a LOT of money) and the instant we discover that we don't share an actual "love of boating," we need to consider pulling the plug. imo

No matter what you decide to do, Todd, I believe it'll be the correct decision. If you do sell, somebody's getting a cracker jack of a boat. If you can justify the expense of keeping it, I believe it'll one day make a lot of great memories for you and your family................ then again, good memories can be found everywhere (except maybe on the golf courses I play.)

Well said Guys.....I have had much the same experiences with a number of boats and cars........brought back some memories reading Todds new experience, funny how things change with time though......good luck with your decision Todd.....Mike

Rick , good points . I don't know Todd that well But from what I do know I have no doubt about Todd's (and his wife) love of boating and the boat . With that said He is a Family man that will put his kids first .

TROJAN F36 Conv.
6BTA Cummins diesels
Life is to short for a ugly boat
2009 TROJAN RENDEZVOUS
Port Kinsale 2010 & 2011. Solomons get together 2011.

Todd, you need to decide if a) boating is something you love, b) restoring boats is something you love, or C) both. If the answer is a or c, I would not sell your boat. You will never get what it is worth to you. I sold my last boat when my daughter was playing travel softball because I never had any time to use the boat. Three months later my daughter quit travel softball and two months after that I bought my current boat.

Why not use the boat as a day boat with your daughter and as an overnight boat when it is just you and your wife? Take a few trips with just you and your wife while your daughter stays overnight at grandma's or a friend's house. Some alone time usually is good for a marriage. You can also take the boat out with some guy friends of yours. Once a year I have a "Guy's Day Boating" where me and two of my guy friends take my boat for a long, overnight trip. My wife prefers shorter trips, so she's more than happy to have me spend one weekend a year getting it out of my system without her.

If the cost of keeping the boat at a marina is an issue, look into joining a yacht club. You are not too far from several Delaware River Yachtsman's League (DRYL) clubs on the Delaware River. You can see a list of the clubs at dryl.org/Members/d_r_y_l_member_organizations.htm . The cost of a yacht club is typically 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a marina. If you are interested in joining a yacht club, I would be more than happy to help you get in touch with the right people.

Children are great, but you also need to live your own life. If you love boating and sell your boat anyway, I think you will regret it very shortly. It only took me five months to know I had made a mistake.

Todd, I don't know how much this will help, but we bought our F36 last spring after 10 years with a much loved 25' bow rider. My teenage girls were about to kill me and were lukewarm about the boat my wife and I believe is the best fit for our family. After a couple of nights on the boat with a leaking head waste hose they never wanted to set foot on it again.

Well, I fixed the sanitation system to the point that the boat smells nice even when it has been closed for a couple of weeks. We talked our youngest into inviting a couple of her friends for a 3-day fall cruise and they had an absolute blast. Now, she cant wait for spring to invite her friends out again.

My point is that kids can be fickle at that age and it can take quite a bit of effort to determine what the underlying problem is and to address it. You know your family better than anyone, so I am sure you can best determine the appropriate course of action.

If I were in your situation, I would be keeping the boat, even if we had to use it as a day boat for a year or two. I like being able to run off to the boat and spend some time working on it and enjoying the peace it brings. When the family is on it, we are spending quality time together that I am sure our kids will remember fondly later in life. One of my boating buddies named his boat Memory Maker for that reason.

In any case, I followed your rebuild thread with much enjoyment and wish you the best as you go through this!

Todd, I've been there with my daughter who's now turning 16. We've gone through various phases of "she loves it, she hates it and everything else in between. Like RWS, I love my boat because I can single hand it and use it a lot by myself. That helps as I don't let the family's lack of interest at any particular time slow me down. Totally agree, bringing a friend is the ticket though, we cracked that code too.

If you don't need to free up cash right now, I would sit on it and maybe take the season off if you really want to. At this point, the value of the boat is not going change in the condition it's in....

It'll sell quick so I think everyone is saying to really think it through. Ugh, I know this must be really tough.

You guys are absolutely amazing! I cant thank you enough for all of your the heartfelt responses. I really appreciate it!
Naturally you guys reaffirmed everything i have been thinking about including missing it down the road. I hate the idea of having her dry docked for another summer but shes inside ,safe and not costing me any money to sit where shes at. We still owe 2 years of payments but on the bright side we have already paid 13 yrs worth of them, Lol!
You guys have managed to thoroughly increase the difficulty of my decision! and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing that . At this point I'm inclined to sit on her for a bit until some of the "renovation Debt" gets paid off . Need to discuss it with the wife but I will keep you guys posted.
Thank You once again.